Lincoln, Commonwealth, UN

What links Lincoln City Football Club Foundation, the UN, the Commonwealth Games Federation, World Athletics and a roundtable discussion with the US State Department?

At the moment, nothing concrete… but after another week of making connections and learning from diverse experts and practitioners in sport for development and diplomacy, it feels increasingly exciting to see where these links can be made.

Tom spoke at Lincoln City Foundation’s 30th anniversary gala event where we also heard inspiring examples of what they have achieved. I thoroughly recommend checking out their website to see how their programmes have helped over 145,000 people find health and make connections. In the margins we spoke with Liam Scully who is Chief Executive of Lincoln City Football Club and the Chair of the English Football League Trust. And we’re looking forward to discussing further the impact of football foundations writ large and thinking through links that could be made with international partners and organisations. From Lincoln to the UN? Possibly.

Having spoken with colleagues at the UN and also the Commonwealth, our offer to link specific, concrete best practice to multilateral policy programmes is also taking shape. We’re looking forward to continuing discussions with the Commonwealth Games Federation on how to promote and ensure sustainable, impactful participation in traditional community sports across the Commonwealth.

And finally, our website is nearly there… though Tom is still refusing to get a head shot done. I suppose there are always issues when starting a new business!

(picture: Lincoln Cathedral as seen on our way to the Lincoln City Foundation Gala Dinner)